bought wicker man box set sight unseen---- (1 Viewer)

[bruce paller]

On the advice from several members on this forum I bought the wicker man box set yesterday----I first went to bb but they didn't have it so i went to tower and found only one remaining. i haven't had the chance to watch it yet but i think i remember seeing this movie many years ago on tv and liking it. I am a big fan of horror films so i don't think i'll be dissapointed. what can i expect regarding the audio and video quality of this dvd?
thanks in advance
Bruce

 

[Mark Zimmer]

You won't be disappointed. It looks fabulous and sounds pretty good. The edited-in segments on the extended version have a noticeable quality difference, but when the only master is tape, what are you going to do. See debi lee's review at Digitally Obsessed for more info.
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"This movie has warped my fragile little mind."

 

[Abraham]

I understand that the Anchor Bay releases of this title, 88 and 99 minutes, are not the original and more desirable long cut version of 103 minutes.

 

[Iain Lambert]

Unfortunately Abraham, if you can find that longer cut then you're a very rich man. Anchor Bay have really gone above and beyond the call of duty to get us as much film as they have managed. The rest just doesn't appear to exist anymore, in any format.

 

[Brook K]

I bought it sight unseen, too. I figure if I don't end up liking it, it should be pretty easy to unload.
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"It's funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen"
S&S Challenge: 72 ...25
DVD BEAVER

My DVD Collection

 

[Kevin Matthews]

The thing that confuses me is that in the docu The Wicker Man Enigma didn't Rodger Corman say that he had the only print of the longer version? Well where is it? The word "print" doesn't make me think of the 1" analog video they used, it sounds to me like actual film print.
And why didn't Anchor Bay just "seamless branch" the extra 11 min.? It wouldn't have been that hard to do I would think.
Anyway I have to say that of all the scenes that were needlessly pitched I think the original beginning was the biggest loss, it told you so much about Howie.
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Kevin Matthews
No sir....I don't like it! - M. Horse

 

[Julie K]

I'm happy with the way AB treated the extended cut. I'm pleased with how they intercut the extended footage with the theatrical release and I'm glad they didn't use seamless branching. Yes, I wish the extended footage had been of higher quality. I also wish the even longer print isn't buried under the M3. As they say, if wishes were fishes, I'd have slimy hands and a kitchen covered in scales...
Anyway, I noticed nothing major missing between the AB extended version and my old 103min VHS. I won't say that scenes aren't shortened a bit, but I really didn't notice anything as "missing" - in fact, one scene on the disc, a talk between Howie and May Morrison, is longer than on my VHS which seems to suffer from a bad cut in the middle of the scene.
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My DVDs
"Some people think I'm over-prepared, paranoid...maybe even a little crazy. But they never met any pre-Cambrian life forms, did they?"

 

[Kevin Matthews]

Just in case it causes confusion I thought I might explain that my quote of "No sir, I don't like it" - M. Horse is a quote from Ren & Stimpy & has nothng to do with this thread or how I feel about the way anchor bay handled the extended material. I was just wondering why they didn't use seemless branching and a second mono track in order to have it all be on one disc so that in the future those who missed out on this Special Edition wouldn't have to buy two different versions when the extended cut get's released on it's own, ala Halloween TV version & Army of Darkness: Directors Cut, why spend twice the ammount of mon..
Err..I seem to have answered my own question

Seriously I don't mind the way they did it but it seems to me that on many of their "special cuts" it would be easier for AB to just include the extra footage on one disk and save us some money, of course that would go against the very idea of "commerce" and without that Anchor Bay wouldn't be able to give us these rare wonderful films.
I guess my main thought is that I would like to hear the nice remastered 5.1 track along with the lost mono footage. Do you think it would be all that harsh a cut from mono to 5.1?
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Kevin Matthews
No sir....I don't like it! - M. Horse
[Edited last by Kevin Matthews on August 25, 2001 at 12:18 PM]

 

[StevenA]

Bought this sight unseen too. I have never been so excited about a release of a film I've never seen before!!
There were only two left (of the LE) in the store. The packaging is the most creative and striking I have in my collection and I love the fact that each box is slightly different because of the unique "branding" of each box.
Now I just have to watch the film, but I haven't yet decided which version to watch first!! I think I may watch the Theatrical Cut first, otherwise I don't have anything to look forward to!!!!

 

[GregoryP]

Hey everyone! Don't get your hopes up too high for this movie. I am a fan of cult films so I bought Wicker Man too. I enjoyed the movie, but it wasn't "THE MOST AMAZING MOVIE I'D EVER SEEN" or anything like some of these Wicker Man threads make it out to be. I bought City of the Living dead after reading some really glowing reviews and ended up really dissapointed. I'm just trying to ground things a bit.
Gregory
[Edited last by Gregory Pauswinski on August 27, 2001 at 04:12 PM]

 

[Randy_M]

I also bought it sight unseen, and although I am not in the "best movie I've ever seen" camp, I thought it was a thoroughly delightful film; especially because I had avoided learning anything about the plot beforehand.
Cheers

 

[Jon Robertson]

It'll grow on you...

The elements have been lost over time, including Roger Corman's 16mm print of the long version which, by all accounts, is exactly the same version as the extended cut on Disc Two.
For some reason, despite the 99-minute running time, the entire film is exactly the same as the "102"-minute version.
The full grisly story can be found, disaster after disaster, in Allen Brown's wonderful document of the film's entire history "Inside The Wicker Man"
[Edited last by Jon Robertson on August 27, 2001 at 07:42 PM]

 

[Kevin M]

Seemless branching would be a bit more difficult than you think because they didn't just remove the scenes mentioned, they also re-edited the film in other ways (such as moving the seduction dance to the first night instead of the second night (as in the original cut) and so on) so just simply branching the cut scenes back into the theatrical version may not be as feasible or simple as you might first think.
I like the way Anchor Bay handled this reconstruction and I think this is a great box set however I have to admit that I too would like to hear the 5.1 track along with the missing footage.
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-Kevin M.
"Have a good time all the time........that's my philosophy, Marty."
[Edited last by Kevin M on August 27, 2001 at 08:54 PM]
[Edited last by Kevin M on August 28, 2001 at 03:35 PM]

 

[Henry Gale]

"...i went to tower and found only one remaining..."
Me too! Think that may be a sales technique? {I better grab this, there's only ONE left.}
Jim
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Please keep in mind that I have no idea what I'm talking about and am only allowed off "D" WARD for 3 hours at a time to volunteer in the Medical Library.

 

[SteveGon]

IMO, The Wicker Man is one of Anchor Bay's better limited editions. A great presentation of a terrific movie. My only gripe is that I wish they'd found a better way to secure the dvds inside the box (a setup like the inside of the Akira tin would have been nice). As it is, the discs are kind of a hassle to get out. Oh well, I can live with it!
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"Death's at the bottom of everything, Martins - leave death to the professionals!"
"Mind if I use that line in my next Western?"

 

[Greg O' Connel]

I agree, which is why I put mine in a blank Dual Alpha case. Besides fitting in with the rest of my DVDs better and being less of a hassle to get out, it'll save wear and tear on the fabulous wooden box. Plus, the two insert cards almost seem to have been made for a standard DVD case, with the picture on the theatrical version insert for the front of the case and the chapter listing for the extended version (which is the one most of us will be watching, anyway) for the back of the case.
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[Jesse Skeen]

I confess to having bought this JUST because the package was so cool- I did see the movie before on TV a long time ago but it still wouldn't have been so high on my "must buy" list if it didn't come in such a neat package. There were only 3 of them left at Fry's so I didn't want to miss getting one- Anchor Bay has a neat "limited edition" of "Candy" too, but I've never seen that movie and Fry's still has a ton of them in stock so they're not going anywhere soon (I wonder if they do only put a few on the shelf so you'll think they're going to be all gone soon?)

 

[Keith Paynter]

It's time to keep my appointment with the Wicker Man...
I caught the last 10 minutes of this movie on late night TV as my first exposure to the film, and spent years trying to find it. Our local library had the true full-length cut (Media Home Entertainment version), and I keep a copy of it in my archives.
Today it legally streets in Canada, so I'm off to get my Wicker Box, to see the quality of the 'restored' footage.
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"Fearless Freep?! That's mmma boy!"